Flaws in Society (Extension)
A reader is able to draw inferences about an author’s values and views through the author’s writing. For example, in The Lord of the Flies, William Golding, the author, clearly expresses his views on the loss of innocence in society, using schoolboys to demonstrate this idea. In the novel Cat’s Cradle, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Vonnegut conveys his perspectives of the flaws in society through the novel.
First and foremost, the author expresses the idea of science’s indifference towards mankind and its negative consequences through Felix Hoenikker’s character and the result of his invention. Felix Hoenikker, one of the scientists who developed the atomic bomb, discovers a chemical remedy that crystalizes any form of liquid referred to as…show more content… When Lionel Boyd Johnson, Bokonon, first encounters the island of San Lorenzo, he sees the natives are in “misery and muck,” surrounded by diseases and poverty (133). Johnson invents a religion known as Bokononism, which is full of “shameless lies;” however, ironically, the islanders fully devote themselves to the lies, which instruct them to remain happy and accept their miseries as fate (5). Vonnegut uses Bokononism to portray religion in society. He views religion as a collection of pure lies used for the sole purpose of bringing purpose and meaning into its followers’ lives, and he uses the irony of the people of San Lorenzo to ridicule this idea. Additionally, after the storm, Bokonon leaves a message to the survivors, explaining that the world was ending because God wanted to “kill them” (273). The Bokononists are so devoted to their religion that they go to the extent of committing suicide. Vonnegut humors how people in society are easily manipulated by a cluster of untruths. Through the satire and criticism, the reader is able to infer that Vonnegut is an